World's first solar highway has been opened in France. Wattway is a patented French innovation that is the fruit of 5 years of research undertaken by Colas, world leader in transport infrastructure, and the INES (French National Institute for Solar Energy). By combining road construction and photovoltaic techniques, Wattway pavement provides clean, renewable energy in the form of electricity, while allowing for all types of traffic. As the energy transition becomes reality, imagine a road ...

Michigan State University engineering researchers have created a new way to harvest energy from human motion, using a film-like device that actually can be folded to create more power. The research, funded by the National Science Foundation, suggests "we're on the path toward wearable devices powered by human motion," said Nelson Sepulveda, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and lead investigator of the project. The completed device is called a biocompatible ferroel...

The BIQ House in Hamburg, Germany, is the first building in the world with a dynamic, algae-based, bio-reactive façade. With 200 square meters of integrated photo-bioreactors (PBRs), this passive-energy house generates high-value biomass and solar thermal heat as renewable energy resources. At the same time, the innovative façade system also integrates additional functionalities, such as adaptive shading and noise reduction. In total, 129 SolarLeaf bioreactors have been installed on the southwes...

Solar Cells Get Boost with Integration of Water-Splitting Catalyst onto Semiconductor Scientists have found a way to engineer the atomic-scale chemical properties of a water-splitting catalyst for integration with a solar cell, and the result is a big boost to the stability and efficiency of artificial photosynthesis. Led by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), the project is described in a paper published this week in the jour...

In a new twist to waste-to-fuel technology, scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed an electrochemical process that uses tiny spikes of carbon and copper to turn carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into ethanol. Their finding, which involves nanofabrication and catalysis science, was serendipitous. ORNL’s Yang Song (seated), Dale Hensley (standing left) and Adam Rondinone examine a carbon nanospike sample with a scanning electron microscope. “We disc...

Fossil fuels have ushered in the modern industrial age, but carbon-neutral methods of electricity production are needed for the future. Salinity gradient energy (SGE) is one approach that is based on using two solutions with large differences in salt concentration to produce electricity. These include naturally occurring water sources with different salinities, such as river water and seawater, and salt brines and seawater or river water, or treated used waters and seawater prior to discharge in...

A microbial fuel cells (MFC) or biological fuel cell is a bio-electrochemical system that drives a current by using bacteria and mimicking bacterial interactions found in nature. MFCs can be grouped into two general categories: mediated and unmediated. Renewable and clean forms of energy are one of society's greatest needs.  At the same time, 2 billion people in the world lack adequate sanitation and the economic means to afford it.  In this research, we are working to address both of these hum...

There’s a new tool in the push to engineer rechargeable batteries that last longer and charge more quickly. An X-ray microscopy technique recently developed at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has given scientists the ability to image nanoscale changes inside lithium-ion battery particles as they charge and discharge. The real-time images provide a new way to learn how batteries work, and how to improve them. The method was developed at Berkeley ...

Tesla Home Battery Powerwall is a home battery that charges using electricity generated from solar panels, or when utility rates are low, and powers your home in the evening. It also fortifies your home against power outages by providing a backup electricity supply. Automated, compact and simple to install, Powerwall offers independence from the utility grid and the security of an emergency backup. Tesla home batteries maximize the usefulness of your solar panels and offer a variety of backup ...